Contradictions between HE’s espoused culture and its recent actions: An ethical analysis

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Business Ethics

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................. 2
Contradictions between HE’s espoused culture..........................................................2
Perspective of the challenges.....................................................................................5
Implications of the “Tiger Culture”...............................................................................7
Advice to CEO.............................................................................................................8
Advice to the Union Leader.........................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................ 11
References................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
The importance of business ethics is growing between organisations as the
competition become fierce at the global stage. Organisations are focusing on
implementing a competitive approach to push boundaries in order to generate a
competitive advantage in the industry. Generally, companies find it difficult to comply
with the principles of business ethics while implementing the policies for generating a
competitive advantage. The importance of corporate governance and corporate
social responsibility (CSR) structure has grown significantly, especially for
multinational organisations since their operations affect a large number of
stakeholders which include customers, employees, shareholders, government,
environment, and others (Torres et al., 2012). As per corporate governance policies,
the companies should implement effective human resource policies which are
focused on implementing a positive working environment in the workplace to provide
appropriate facilities for employees and fulfil their needs.
Moreover, the corporation and its management have to comply with various ethical
theories while forming business policies to ensure that they address the moral and
ethical issues while taking actions for performing their business operations (Chell et
al., 2016). In this report, the case study of Hutong Enterprises (HE) will be evaluated
while assessing the policies of global corporate governance and CSR. HE is facing a
number of challenges since the management of the company has decided to
forcefully terminate its employees that violated their long-term employment
relationship. The company has also failed to address the issues relating to its
organisational culture due to which many employees have committed suicide. This
report will evaluate the contradictions between the company’s culture and its recent
actions and analyse how they can be resolved. The two challenges will be evaluated
by using relevant ethical theories and whether the company’s culture is exploiting its
employees will be assessed in the report. Lastly, advice will be given to the CEO and
the union leader for their future approaches regarding these issues.

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Contradictions between HE’s espoused culture
HE has emerged from a local Chinese company to a multinational organisation
which offers its services in several countries. The corporation has gained a
competitive advantage in its business based on its effective organisational culture
which is focused on increasing efficiency in the workplace. The company has hired
more than 150,000 employees for its operations. Its products include professional
services, telecom network infrastructure, mobile telephony, and associated
applications and software. Around 80 percent staff members of the company are
male, and they are relatively young as well. Three-quarters of the company’s
employees are under 50 which mean it hires young employees who have ambition
and energy to work as per the schedule of the enterprise. The company has a
reputable culture based on which it cannot be expected from the company that it had
involved in any immoral or unethical behaviour towards its employees. The corporate
governance structure of the company is influenced by the western principles which
are focused on ensuring that the rights of employees are not violated. The vision of
the company is focused on providing high-quality services to its customers, and its
values are focused on teamwork, improvement, integrity, mutual trust, and
dedication.
The corporation has given a significant position to its employees because they are a
key contributor in its success. This element is highlighted by the HRM policies which
are implemented by the enterprise. These policies are focused on providing effective
benefits and rewards to employees based on their performance in the company. The
performance of employees is continuously monitored by the HR department, and
they receive benefits according to the improvement in their performance. The
contradiction occurred because the values and policies of the company are focused
on promoting the welfare of its employees and maximising their values (Manroop,
2015). The HR policies of the company are focused on welfare, health, and well-
being of its employees which is achieved by providing consultation and counselling
to employees when required. On the other hand, the company has adopted a
‘mattress culture’ in which most employees have to work long shifts in which they
sleep on their desks rather than going to their homes. This has adversely affected
their health, and it started to create challenges in their personal and professional life.